Ekweremadu kicks against executive order on state judiciary, legislature

Ike Ekweremadu, senator representing Enugu west, has faulted the executive order of President Muhammadu Buhari on financial autonomy for the legislature and judiciary in states.

While signing the order last week, Buhari had said he would do everything to strengthen the principles and practice of democratic governance in the country.

But the former deputy senate president said there was no need for the executive order since the eighth national assembly amended the constitution to provide financial autonomy for states’ legislature and judiciary and this was signed into law by the president.

The senator said states ought to have worked out modalities on implementing amendment but that did not happen.

“We, the members of the eight assembly, passed the amendment to the constitution to grant financial autonomy to the State judiciary and legislature because we believed that for the sake of their independence, they should be on the first line charge of the states consolidated revenue account,” Uche Anichukwu, media aide to Ekweremadu, quoted him as saying while speaking on Dream FM, Enugu, on Friday.

“And when we passed them, the president dutifully signed them into law that should have been the end of it because the amendments are self-executing. We expected that having done that, the states should go ahead to work out the modalities. But that didn’t happen.

“So, the president now set up a committee headed by the attorney-general of the federation to work out the modalities for implementation.

“I think it was at that point that they deemed it necessary to come up with an executive order to strengthen the implementation.But regrettably, they have simply mutilated those provisions of the Constitution as amended.”

Ekweremadu said the executive order contains some provisions that are not in the existing law.

“Now, they are adding some aspects suggesting to the states how to manage their funds because part of that executive order is that in the next three years, the judiciary in the states should dedicate part of the monies coming to them to capital projects for the state judiciary,” he said.